Although the concept of chemical messengers regulating gastrointestinal function has been recognized for many years, recent advances in basic research techniques has led to an explosion of information and interest in peptides of the gut. These peptides have been shown not only to exert a myriad of actions on the gastrointestinal tract, but also to have profound influences on the function of most of the body's organ systems. The wide-spread distribution and actions of gut peptides has led to a broadened base of investigative interest that crosses traditional clinical disciplines and scientific boundaries. Advances in cell biology, biochemistry, and molecular biology have provided tools with which the genetic or molecular links between peptides and clinical digestive disease states may be identified. However, because of the disparate nature of the demands of clinical and basic science, relatively little progress has been made in approaching some of these questions in a unified and broad-based manner. Thus, it is the purpose of this Center to promote interaction between clinical and basic scientists of many disciplines with the aim of disseminating new information and catalyzing collaborative research efforts directed at elucidating the role of gut peptides in molecular pathophysiology of digestive diseases. The Center through its Core laboratories, will provide a collective expertise which will enable investigators to widen the scope of their research. Through the mechanism of feasibility/pilot project funding, investigators may pursue new areas of research as well as develop talented young associates in their laboratories. The Center will become the fulcrum of activity that could galvanize the research activities of the large and established group of investigators in gut peptides that already exists at the University of Michigan. Together, the group will approach questions of fundamental importance in the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of digestive diseases in man.